


kiss my ass

by foreverautumn



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Neighbors (sort of), Pining, Unfortunate innuendo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-18
Updated: 2014-10-18
Packaged: 2018-02-21 14:32:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2471666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foreverautumn/pseuds/foreverautumn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The thing is, it’s routine, every last bit of it. Including the exchange of insults.</p>
<p>"Kiss my ass, Eren," Levi bites out, leaning back to take another sip of his drink.</p>
<p>What isn’t routine is Eren’s answer, which is delivered with force as he leans across the table, cheeks mildly pink from the beer he’s been working on.</p>
<p>"Maybe I will!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	kiss my ass

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this awhile ago, and even though it's kind of pointless, I've always had a soft spot for it, ahaha. Posting it here was a good chance to clean it up a little bit (like I'd been meaning to for ages ;w;)

It’s simply routine, by this point.

It’s a strange thing, the way he and his neighbor’s brother have somehow ended up seeing more and more of each other. Not through any overt effort on Levi’s part, of course, but he can’t help but notice that Eren’s visits to his sister have started to increase in frequency, and they often end with him hanging out with Levi.

He’s still not sure how Eren had talked his way into the apartment the first time. Levi has hazy recollections of Eren dawdling outside in the hallway while talking with his sister, eyes flickering over to watch Levi as he’d vacuumed the entryway of his apartment as well as part of the hallway. Eren hadn’t looked at him like he’d thought he was crazy, which had been a first, but once he’d ended up in Levi’s apartment, he’d made some snide remark, which Levi, of course, had met with his own.

After that, Eren’s appearances had become less opportunistic, to the point where he actually knocks on Levi’s door - not that he really needs to. He’s so loud slamming his sister’s apartment door, and on top of that, he shuffles his feet when he walks, which Levi never misses a chance to pester him about.

The thing is, it’s routine, every last bit of it. Including the exchange of insults.

"Kiss my ass, Eren," Levi bites out, leaning back to take another sip of his drink.

What isn’t routine is Eren’s answer, which is delivered with force as he leans across the table, cheeks mildly pink from the beer he’s been working on.

"Maybe I will!"

There’s an awkward pause, and Levi lets out a bark of laughter, placing a hand over his mouth. Eren’s entire face turns as red as a tomato, and though Levi makes no further jabs at him for the failed comeback, everything from Eren’s ears to his neck proceeds to turn the same vivid shade.

"Um," Eren starts, fingers fumbling with his bottle, and Levi’s half afraid he’s going to drop the damned thing.

"Calm down," Levi retorts, raising an eyebrow. He can’t help himself from poking fun at Eren a little bit more, and he jokes, "Maybe I would let you."

Eren actually does spill the bottle then, and Levi jumps up to get some paper towels, cursing to himself and at Eren. He barely registers Eren’s stammering apology, which is quickly followed by a mumbled excuse for why he has to leave.

He’s out of the apartment before Levi can even reply.

Levi stands alone in his kitchen, beer-soaked paper towels in his hand and a strange prickle in the back of his neck.

—

It’s not until the next weekend that Eren comes around again, and by 'comes around', Levi means to visit his sister. Not that Levi’s a stalker or anything; it’s not his fault that Eren moves around with the grace of an elephant and thinks everyone on the floor needs to be graced with the sound of his obnoxious voice.

There is most certainly not an anxious feeling in the pit of Levi’s belly, and if he stands scrubbing at the same spot on the counter until his arm starts to hurt, that’s only because the dirt had really piled up.

He’s not jumpy at all, and his ears are not tuned to listen for any sort of sounds that would indicate Eren approaching his apartment.

Levi is currently in the process of folding his laundry, and if it’s strange that he’s doing it in the living room instead of his bedroom, as he usually does, it’s only because he needs a little change of scenery every once in awhile.

Levi drops the shirt in his hands at the creak of a door opening, and his breath catches at the sound of Eren’s voice drifting through the hallway. He finds himself inching closer to the door, and shit, maybe he doesn’t have any other excuse to be doing so than to listen to what Eren’s saying, but so what? Levi doesn’t have to explain himself to anyone.

"I can’t wait to take a nap," Eren says, so over-dramatically that Levi rolls his eyes despite himself. He pretends he isn’t a creeper as he stands right in front of the door, but he’s fully aware that he is.

"Aren’t you going to go bother Levi?"

The quiet voice of Eren’s sister, Mikasa, is harder to pick up, but as Levi is a creeper who is just a step away from having his ear pressed to the door, he can hear her words.

Fuck it. Might as well be as shameful as possible.

Levi’s stomach flips as he leans forward, resting the side of his head against the door. Eren’s taking too long to answer, and for some reason, it’s making Levi anxious.

"Who says my company is a bother?" Eren replies finally, but the words lack the playful nature Levi’s sure he’d intended. Instead he sounds hesitant and unsure, and Levi closes his eyes as his stomach flips again.

"He does," Mikasa says calmly. "And you say the same about him, but you always go over there anyway."

Levi realizes his nails are digging into his palm, and he uncurls his fingers, attempting to breathe normally.

Eren laughs awkwardly, making Levi cringe. “Probably best we just leave each other alone, then.”

The words make Levi freeze, throat constricting. This definitely isn’t routine, and maybe he hadn’t noticed how much he’d actually enjoyed their routine until now.

"Whatever you say," comes the soft reply. "Let me know when you get home, Eren."

"Yeah, yeah," Eren says dismissively, the way he always does when she displays more concern over him than he deems necessary.

Levi has his hand wrapped around the doorknob, knuckles white. He has half a mind to throw open the door and confront Eren, but he finds he has no idea what to say.

The door to Mikasa’s apartment closes loudly, making Levi jump; he’s not used to being so close to the source of the sound. His fingers squeeze tighter around the doorknob as he hears feet shuffling closer.

He thinks they might hesitate, just a little, before they move on by, but Levi has probably just imagined it.

—

Eren visits his sister three more times - that Levi is aware of, anyway - and he doesn’t knock at Levi’s door on any of these occasions. Levi finds each visit more nerve-wracking than the last, and it’s during the fourth visit that Levi notices he’s been attempting to fold two pairs of his underwear together like socks for the past twenty minutes.

Levi throws the jumbled mess back into the laundry basket, slumping into the couch.

So, he misses Eren.

The thought makes his stomach lurch strangely, and his lips thin into a line. He can’t deny this fact, however, and he sighs.

Why had a stupid joke caused Eren to not want to come by anymore? Had he really been that uncomfortable? Had he been offended somehow? It hadn’t even been that bad, and they’d both had a beer or two, so it should mean even less than it would have otherwise.

Why does Levi care so much in the first place?

Maybe because he likes the way his heart skips when Eren noisily approaches his apartment, likes talking with him, even their stupid pointless banter. Maybe he likes how he teases Levi about his quirks but doesn’t actually mean it, how he takes things in stride, and seems to want to really know Levi. He might even like watching those really awful shows and picking them apart on the nights Eren stays later than usual.

Maybe what he likes most of all is when Eren _looks_ at him the way he does sometimes, with that half-smile, or maybe it's the way his eyes light up when they’re together. Maybe he'd even liked the way Eren had stammered the last time Levi'd seen him, and maybe he'd even liked the red of his cheeks.

An epiphany is on the horizon of his mind just as the familiar sound of a door opening cuts through the silence, along with a voice that’s unmistakably Eren’s.

Levi balls his hands into fists on his lap, biting his lip anxiously. He has a feeling he’s about to do something he hasn't quite thought out properly.

At the sound of the door closing, Levi’s on his feet, making his way over to his door so quickly he’s surprised he doesn’t trip. He flings the door open, heart lodged in his throat, and Eren turns toward him, eyes widened in surprise.

They stare at each other silently, Levi’s heart pounding wildly in his chest. The surprise eases away from Eren’s face, his eyebrows shifting back to where they belong after disappearing into his bangs.

"What are you doing?" he asks, and Levi stares dumbly for a moment longer before realizing he’s just thrown open his door for no reason and is staring at Eren like a weirdo. He grimaces internally, wondering why he’s been turning into more of a creep lately where Eren’s concerned.

"Just taking out the trash," Levi replies, proud of the way he keeps his voice even. The momentary pride fades away as quickly as it’d come as Eren’s eyes drift down to observe Levi’s empty hands.

Levi wants to die, and not because of the slip up, exactly, but because of the way his face heats up at the realization of it. He hates blushing, and though he thankfully doesn’t do it often, it turns his face all blotchy and gross, which is the exact opposite of what he wants to happen right now.

"So… I’m going to get the bag," Levi says stiffly, turning away from Eren and making his way back inside of his apartment. He storms into the kitchen and grabs the trash bag, tying it with more force than strictly necessary, teeth gritted and nostrils flared.

Might as well see the thing through at this point, Levi seethes in his mind. He almost drops the bag in surprise when he sees Eren still hanging around in the hallway, hands in his pockets as he shifts his feet from side to side.

"I’ll walk you out," he says, a small smile on his face, and Levi feels such a sense of relief that it’s embarrassing.

"Alright," he replies, closing the door quietly behind him, not meeting Eren’s eyes.

They walk along silently, side by side, and Levi tries not to tremble when Eren’s arm brushes his as they descend the stairs. Eren holds the door for him, which is completely unnecessary, but it makes his heart swell anyway. After he deposits the half-empty bag into the bin off to the side of the building, he turns back around to face Eren.

"How have you been?" Eren blurts, and Levi cringes internally at the question.

"Fine," he replies, thinking back to how he’d just been treating his underwear as if they were socks. "I haven’t seen you lately," he adds bravely after another moment.

"Ah, yeah," Eren says, eyes shifting off to the side for a second. "I never know if you’re home." He laughs, the sound strained.

"That never bothered you before."

Levi isn’t quite sure how the words escape his lips without his consent, but they certainly have, judging by Eren’s look of surprise. There’s also guilt there, which Levi isn’t sure if he should feel pleased or saddened by.

"Well, I don’t know," Eren says slowly, stuffing his hands in his pockets again. "I… I don’t want to bother you." He gives Levi an uneasy smile, and Levi scowls darkly in return.

"What’s with this bullshit?" He crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow. "You never worried about bothering me before, either."

"Then you should be happy, now," Eren replies, and his voice sounds strange; Levi can’t quite read it, which annoys him immensely.

"Is this because of that stupid fucking joke? You need to grow up, Eren."

Eren’s face twists in anger, ears turning red as he retorts, “Don’t give me that, you asshole!”

This should feel like routine, but it doesn’t, not quite, so Levi doesn’t continue provoking Eren like he normally would. “So then, why?”

Eren sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Who cares, Levi?”

"It was a joke," Levi insists, because this is important, somehow; he needs to resolve this, so that he and Eren can go back to how they’re supposed to be.

"That’s the thing," Eren mutters, eyes downcast. Levi tilts his head to the side, and almost doesn’t hear Eren as he mumbles, "Maybe I don’t want it to be a joke."

Levi stares stupidly, heart thudding. 

“You want to kiss my ass?”

The eloquent words are enough to make Eren blush, which relieves Levi greatly since his own face is feeling rather warm all of a sudden. Still, the blotchy patches that mar his skin are nowhere near as nice as the healthy flush that spreads through Eren’s cheeks, all along his lovely cheekbones, and—

"No!" Eren hisses, looking mortified. "That’s not what I meant!"

"I know," Levi replies quickly, mentally berating himself for his stupidity. Could this conversation go any worse? Perhaps it would have been better if he hadn’t tried to confront Eren after all. The thought causes a strange pang in his chest, however, and Levi braces himself.

"But you could, you know," Levi adds after a few agonizing moments of silence, pressing his sweaty palms against the sides of his legs.

"Kiss your ass?" Eren asks incredulously, eyebrows scrunching together in confusion, and Levi actually groans, slapping a hand to his forehead in frustration.

"No, you stupid fuck!" Levi snarls, lowering his hand. Eren stares at him, bewildered, and Levi takes a deep breath, attempting to let the anger fade from his face.

He somehow manages to keep his eyes trained to Eren’s as he murmurs, “I meant you could…”

Shit, he can get these words out, he can.

"You could kiss me."

If it were any other situation, Levi would commend Eren for his vivid impersonation of a humanoid statue. As it stands, however, his heart sinks further and further each moment the long stretch of silence drags on, which Eren makes no attempt to break.

"That was a joke," Levi says, the words bitter on his tongue. "Anyway, I have to get back, I don’t have all day to—"

He has his back halfway turned to Eren when he feels a warm hand around his wrist, and when he turns around, Eren’s so close it makes his breath catch embarrassingly.

"I don’t want it to be a joke," Eren says, voice low, and there’s a tremor that runs from Levi’s heart straight through to his body. Eren seems to take this as acceptance, which Levi is thankful for, because he doesn’t trust himself to speak.

Eren dips his head, face approaching Levi’s, and with half-lidded eyes he murmurs, “I… I want to.”

Levi sighs shakily, tilting his head to the side as he leans in closer. “You better not have bad breath, or I’ll punch you.”

Eren laughs, eyes shining, and Levi’s heart tumbles as Eren angles his head to—

"Eren, you forgot—"

The hand around Levi’s wrist falls away, and Eren’s head snaps to the side so quickly Levi thinks he can almost hear it. He stares at the side of Eren’s face for a moment longer before also turning, eyes landing on Mikasa.

Mikasa’s looking at Eren strangely, her gaze occasionally slipping to the side to fix Levi with the same look. Levi can’t make out the words the two of them are exchanging, his mind still pelting him with the image of Eren’s face looming toward him.

"See you!" Eren says loudly, raising his hand awkwardly, and Levi suppresses a flinch. Mikasa looks like she wants to say something more, but thankfully she decides against it.

As she turns away, Levi glances down to see Eren holding a small bowl. He smirks, a quip about how Eren probably can’t cook a damn thing right on his lips, but then he makes the mistake of looking back up.

Eren’s cheeks are pink and he’s biting his lip, looking torn, and Levi suddenly wants to drag him around the side of the building and throw him up against the wall.

The sound of the door closing breaks Levi out of his thoughts, and he glances over to see that Mikasa is back inside. He’s contemplating acting out on his idea of throwing Eren against the wall when Eren fidgets slightly, eyes downcast.

"Uh, I guess I should go," Eren says, shifting from one foot to the other.

Levi tries not to feel too disappointed, but it’s difficult. “Right,” he replies woodenly.

"Can I—" Eren cuts himself off, then continues after Levi raises a brow in question. "Can I have your number?"

It seems like a stupid question. They’ve just almost kissed, and are now decidedly not going to; Eren already knows where he lives, as well, so what would he need Levi’s number for?

He recites it for Eren anyway, who fumbles to enter it into his phone with one hand. Levi scratches at the back of his head as Eren continues playing around with his phone, and after a moment he feels his own buzz in his pocket.

Eren gives him a sheepish grin, and Levi rolls his eyes and pulls out his phone.

_'I'm pretty sure Mikasa is watching us.'_

Levi feels the corner of his mouth threatening to twitch up. He types back, _'What are we, five?'_

Predictably, Eren scowls upon receiving the message, and he responds verbally, “Shut up!” His features soften after a moment, and he murmurs uncertainly, “I guess I’ll see you?”

It’s all exceedingly awkward after that, and Levi feels like a fucking mess by the time he makes it back up to his apartment.

He’s sitting next to the travesty that is his laundry when his phone buzzes again.

_'Next time I don't care who's watching, I'll kiss you anyway'_

Levi stares at the screen for at least five minutes, cheeks burning and heart pounding. Eventually he manages a simple, eloquent response.

_'Fuck off.'_

—

When he swings open his door four days later to find Eren standing there, Levi’s just about reached his limit. He doesn’t even invite Eren in or check to make sure no one is in the hallway before he reaches out and cups Eren’s face, tilting his head down to plant a kiss on his lips.

It’s a little clumsy at first, but then Eren shifts and their mouths slant together in a way that makes Levi’s toes curl. The feeling of Eren's lips attached to his own is enough to make his head spin, everything just as tantalizing as he'd been dreaming of - though he'd never admit out loud that he'd been dreaming of any such thing. When he presses a little closer, Eren makes a low sound against his mouth that Levi’s sure will haunt his dreams for years to come.

It’s difficult, but he tries not to let himself get too carried away, resisting the urge to wrap himself all around Eren and pry his mouth open with his tongue. It's only their first kiss, after all, there's no need to rush. This thought makes something warm unfurl in the pit of Levi's stomach.

The soft pressure of Eren’s lips leaves his own tingling even after they pull apart. Eren’s cheeks are slightly pink, eyes playful, and he mutters a bit breathlessly, “Hey, I wanted to kiss you.”

Levi smirks, hands slipping teasingly down Eren’s back as he breathes against the soft lips inching closer, “You can kiss my ass.”

**Author's Note:**

> ...yeah so this literally has like no plot, I'm sorry. *cries* But I have a soft spot for fluff and pining Levi (though it's mild pining here) so I guess maybe that's why I wrote it, ahaha.
> 
> (I posted this on my tumblr many many months ago, so if it seems vaguely familiar, that's probably why)
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read ;A;


End file.
